The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is probing a shooting incident by a US ship that left an Indian fisherman dead and three Indians seriously injured, an official said.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is probing a shooting incident by a US ship that left an Indian fisherman dead and three Indians seriously injured, an official said.

The US Navy supply ship opened fire Monday evening on a fishing boat near the mouth of Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, WAM news agency quoted a UAE foreign ministry official as saying.

Tariq Ahmed Al Haidan, assistant to UAE foreign minister for political affairs, said an Indian fisherman was killed and three Indians were seriously injured.

"The UAE concerned authorities are investigating the shooting incident," he added.

The US military ship fired at the small boat off the UAE coast as the latter "ignored the warnings and came too close", Xinhua quoted sources as saying.

The USNS Rappahannock, a fuel re-supply ship, fired upon the small motor vessel after it disregarded warnings and rapidly approached the US ship near Jebel Ali, according to a statement of the US navy's Bahrain-based fifth fleet.

Sailors on the USNS Rappahannock used a series of non-lethal, pre-planned responses to warn the vessel's operators to turn away from their "deliberate" approach before resorting to lethal force, the statement said.

Jebel Ali port, the largest port in the Middle East, is frequently visited by the ships of the US navy as a rest port for sailors.